


You Stubborn Ass

by Fanfiction_Junkie_28



Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Sleepy Bois Inc
Genre: Canon Divergence, Chat is a little feral, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, Hey what if people stuck to what they said they believed in?, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), I just want a better handled depressedinnit, Implied Suicide Attempt, No Butcher Army AU, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Realistic Minecraft, Shapeshifter Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo Thinks TommyInnit is Dead, Unreliable Narrator, dont worry no one is actually dead, exile arc, kind of, retirement arc, suicidal character, there's probably a better tag for that but I don't know it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:55:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29126841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfiction_Junkie_28/pseuds/Fanfiction_Junkie_28
Summary: I've always thought it was kind of odd how—after exiling Tommy—Tubbo said he did it for peace, and then 10 minutes later is getting ready to wage war. I know he's trying not to be a dictator, but I wish he hadn't contradicted himself like that.Plus, I hunger for the retirement arc we all got denied for "more exciting content".Not to mention how they built up Tommy's depression, then he attempted suicide, and then it just kind of disappeared? I want to deal with that properly, rather than having it simply disappear.Anyway, this is basically an AU where the Butcher Army is denied, and Tubbo finally grows a spine when it comes to trying to maintain peace. (If not for the people of L'manberg, then for the betrayal of his best friend.)
Relationships: No shipping - Relationship, Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Tommy & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 93





	1. Peace Born From Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> Put your foot down, Mr.President. Do not invalidate the sacrifice of a friend so easily.
> 
> (Warning! There is swearing below!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Put your foot down, Mr.President. Do not invalidate the sacrifice of a friend so easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Warning! There is swearing below!)

The young president, the fox, and the man shuffled into the van, sopping wet from the rain that came down.  
  
“That’s it. I just- I just- I just-” Quackity stuttered "I don’t know what to say, man.”  
  
Fundy sighed, his irritated breath feeling like sandpaper to Tubbo’s soul.  
  
“Why’d you switch up at the last moment, dude? Why?”  
  
“It was for the best, Tommy thinks too emotionally, this is the logical thing to do.” Tubbo reasoned, “ _Now,_ we don’t have a target on our back.”  
  
“What do you mean we don’t have a f-” The man wiped his hands down his face, “You don’t understand! You don’t understand, this is what he does first! We don’t have nothing anymore! _Nothing!”_ He yelled, throwing his arms out in frustration.  
  
Tubbo’s eyes drifted to the window, the homes of everyone in L’manberg, shining in the dark, rainy night. The people sleeping in their homes were the people he betrayed his best friend to protect. They were his people. They were his friends. They were his family.   
  
Quackity slammed his hands on the table, pulling Tubbo out of his head, and back into the tense room.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell us?! Why didn’t you tell us that’s what you were gonna do?”  
  
His voice was dripping with irritation and slight desperation for the answer that would satisfy him. But if the past five minutes were anything to go off of, nothing would satisfy him but a, “Yes, you are right. I will go along with whatever you say.”  
  
“I didn’t _think_ I was going to do that, until I realized that… it made the most sense.”  
  
“Because you weren’t thinking!” Fundy cried out, interrupting Tubbo, but he continued.  
  
“I wasn’t thinking, I wasn’t thinking logically. I wasn’t. I’m a logical thinker! I was not thinking logically until I got up there.” The young president said, gesturing to the tall black wall outside the vehicle.  
  
“We were a nation! Tubbo, we were a nation! Peace is _not_ an option, Tubbo!” Quackity screamed.  
  
Normally, the brunet would let the man yell and scream as much as he wanted, he might even let him convince him. But no. _That_ was the last straw. Tubbo could not stand down now.  
  
“Silence!” The boy cried out, slamming his scarred hands on the wooden table. “We are still a nation! Negotiation does not stop us from being a nation! Working with an enemy does not stop us from being a nation!”  
  
“Wait until word gets around that you exiled Tommy! Then what’s going to happen next, fucking- Technoblade is gonna come and overtake us? Because you clearly just let fucking Dream do it!”  
  
“No! This does not make us weak! It just means that we can speak to our enemies! Starting wars doesn’t make us strong! It just makes us impulsive! Stupid!”  
  
“Oh, so now fighting makes us stupid?!”  
  
“When we don’t need to fight, yes! Yes it does! We just need to reason with our enemies!”  
  
“We can’t reason with them!”  
  
“We’ve been able to convince people to work with us before! What makes you think we can’t convince people to not start wars?!”  
  
“ _We_ didn’t convince people to work with us! Tommy did! Wilbur did!” Quackity snapped.  
  
Tubbo opened his mouth to argue, but Quackity was right. Tommy and Wilbur were the ones that were good with people. The ones that rallied people to their cause. And they were gone now.  
  
One was just exiled, and the other was dead.  
  
“Quackity, tell me what you want us to do.” He said, his hands clenching into fists. “Tell me what you want to do, not what you think I did wrong.”  
  
The man was quiet for a moment.  
  
“I want.. I want to fight Dream- to fight Technoblade. I want to win. I want to fucking kill them. I want to rid this goddamn world of them.” He said, his words dripping with hatred and a wish for revenge.  
  
With serious eyes, and a hardened heart, Tubbo looked up to his new second in command.  
  
“And what will that do? Not only will we be picking a fight with the two most powerful people in the world, it will take away the reason I exiled Tommy! If we go after him now, sacrificing Tommy will be all for naught!” The young president yelled, feeling the pressure build behind his eyes. “Big Q- Big Q, listen to me- I can’t let that betrayal be worth nothing! I didn’t betray Tommy for nothing!”  
  
“Then you shouldn’t have betrayed him in the first place!” Fundy shouted.  
  
“But I did! It’s done, and nothing can change that without invalidating the decision! I can’t go back on it now! It was the most logical decision, and I will stand by that opinion if it kills me!”  
  
“Tubbo-”  
  
“No.”  
  
“You can’t be serious-”  
  
“I am.”  
  
“You’re not listening.”  
  
“I was listening- I _am_ listening. But that doesn’t mean I agree.”  
  
“You don’t have to agree! You just have to let us-”  
  
“NO! You keep telling me _I’m_ not listening, but you’re wrong! I listen! I’ve been listening! But it’s _you_ that never listens! You always undermine my authority! I’m the president of L’manberg, and you will listen to me and what I have to say!”  
  
A tense silence fell over the three co-leaders, making the air thick, and jaws clench.

Quackity huffed, "Fine then. Do what you want, _President of L'manberg."_ He turned on his heel, and stormed out the door. "Come on, Fundy."  
  
The fox followed, leaving Tubbo alone with one last glare

_It's all for the best._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! First chapter! Okay, so before we continue, I would like to say that this work is going to mostly just be Techno and Tommy-centric, with the occasional L'manberg chapter. I would write more for what's happening in the country, but I didn't actually pay attention to what was happening in L'manberg. I just watched Techno and Tommy's streams.
> 
> (I might have seen some clips here and there, but I know little to nothing about the inner-workings of L'manberg.)


	2. Run Away, Theseus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theseus has escaped, but he cannot get far on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (tw: swearing, implied suicide attempt, effects of being gaslit, trauma, and slow frostbite)

With erratic breaths and shaking limbs, Tommy pulled himself out of the small lake. He was soaked to the bone, and so very cold. But that didn’t matter, not right now.  
  
 _He was just here so he could watch me.  
  
_ “This place is a shithole!” Tommy shouted out as he stomped through the area he’d been staying in ever since that rainy night he got exiled.  
  
He had started thinking this place was pretty okay, but it wasn’t. And perhaps there wasn’t a better wake up call to this than the gunpowder that hung in the air, the fall off a self-made tower taller than the clouds, or the cold water that had completely soaked him through.  
  
“What did he say on the first day?” The boy asked, “Little bug that he couldn’t flick off. I’m the only person that never does what he says.”  
  
And then it dawned on him, “I’m the only person that never does what he says. Me.”  
  
He turned towards the falling sun, “He said that to me, didn’t he?”  
  
 _No one came.  
  
_ “You’re right, and _everyone,_ left me.” The fire pikes crackled in the silence, “...But Dream wasn’t- He was just here to make sure- Because I’m the only one that’ll throttle him.”

“I’m the only one Dream is scared of.”

~+~+~+~

Maybe I shouldn’t have left.  
  
 _Go back.  
  
_ No no no, I’ve got the pep in my step again! I can’t!  
  
Tommy could not go back to Logstedshire. He’d come this far.  
  
 _He might still forgive you! Go back!  
  
_ The biting wind howled, seemingly trying to push him back to that awful place. But he couldn’t go back. Tommy couldn’t go back. Never again.  
  
His foot had gone numb, walking in the snow with a bare foot probably wasn’t the smartest thing Tommy had ever done. His clothes were still a little damp when he’d left, but at least he had the mind to grab the woolen tarp from Dream’s tent.   
  
Walking through the snowy woods with nothing to protect his left leg from the knee down, he tried to pull around a long cut of wool like a cape that only _kind of_ blocked the wind, though it did seem to get caught on every branch in his path.  
  
His leg was really cold, and every speck of snow that touched him was so cold it almost burned. He briefly wondered if this was how Ghostbur felt in the rain, sizzling as the rain melted him.  
  
With a bit of wood in his inventory and the moon overhead, Tommy thought about finding somewhere to rest, but then something else came to mind.  
  
What if Dream came back? What if Dream knew he’d left? What if Dream looked for him? Dream would surely kill him for leaving.

_Unless you do as I tell you, I’ll kill you._

His entire body tensed at the thought. 

_For real this time._

His throat seemed to close, his head was swimming, and a dark pit settled in his stomach.   
  
However, a strong gust of wind slammed into his face, forcing the boy back into reality. He could probably get a bit further before he needed to find shelter. He just needed to get a little further away.

He didn’t even notice the red trailing behind him.

~+~+~+~

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!  
  
Tommy was really starting to hate everything about this stupid fucking tundra. Especially how the cold snow made everything look like an endless white space with a shitload of trees.  
  
He especially hated how the ground sunk under his feet, or how in this case, it seemed as though there was no ground at all.  
  
An arrow flew over the boy’s head as he tumbled down a hill, all sense of direction lost as he snowballed down. The snow was so cold it burned, his left leg had gone completely numb, his blood made a stain on the once white snow, and he didn’t even want to think about his blue foot.  
  
“Bitch!” Tommy swore as his body slammed into a tree, doing a damn good job of shaking all the birds out.  
  
But he’d been through worse, he was Tommy-fucking-innit; The teen who’d been through 7 wars; Died two times; And got nick-named motherfucking Theseus, bitch.  
  
Another arrow missed Tommy’s head, jolting him out of the fog that overcame his senses, and he was able to force himself to move. Moving clumsily through the thick snow in the dark night, Tommy continued to run away from the stray.   
  
It truly was _not_ Tommy’s luckiest night, after another arrow shot past the boy, a second cloaked skeleton emerged. However, this one was in front of him, and now he only had two options. Left or right.  
  
The new stray seemed to have better aim, as its first shot sliced his cheek. He hissed in pain, but chose a direction and ran. Limping as fast as he could, through the big puffs of breath in the air, the seemingly endless snow-covered forest.  
  
Tommy was so very screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that okay? I think it was okay. 
> 
> I hope you liked the new chapter! Honestly, I can write Tommy POV things pretty easily, I just need to find a way to describe things right, while also keeping his vocabulary level in mind. God, I can't wait to write Technoblade POV, I wanna use my big brain words.
> 
> Anywho, thank you for reading, and I hope you have a nice day!


	3. Grief of The Survivor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death follows all presidents of L'manberg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to warn you now, there is implied suicide and I did my best to recreate what happens when you find out that someone you know just died. I ended up mashing together my own experience with finding out someone I knew committed suicide, and the scene from Tubbo's stream.
> 
> Anyway, if you feel uncomfortable reading that, skip to the end, I'll give a quick run-down of the important info from the chapter!

Tubbo had been busy in L’manberg, trying his best to appease the people and be a good president. He was determined not to be too controlling, not to be too mean, too forceful. He was determined to avoid becoming a dictator, becoming like _Schlatt.  
  
_ However, it was a difficult balance. He had to compromise and go along with a lot of things, and he would without much complaint, but there was one thing he would not even allow discussion on.  
  
Quackity and Fundy wanted so desperately to fight with Dream, to go after Technoblade, try to fight wars that had not even begun yet; But Tubbo would not allow it.   
  
The two would try to talk to the young President about it, he would deny them, and they would call him a dictator. They’d say he was being like Schlatt, because he wouldn’t say yes, because he would not allow them to go through with it.  
  
The boy hated it, he hated being called a dictator, he hated how they compared him to Schlatt, and he hated how they seethed. How they hissed. How their frustration seemed to build every day.  
  
But he would have to bear with it. Tubbo would not allow himself to cave, to go along with impulsive, short-sighted decisions. He had to be logical. He had to think about what was best for the nation.

_We agreed on something, and you last minute just call everything off for your own benefit._

No no, he wasn’t doing this for himself. He was doing this for the nation. If he was doing it for himself, he wouldn’t have exiled Tommy.

_You’re acting like Schlatt._

Why couldn’t they understand?  
  
He really wasn’t. He-  
  
“Tubbo?”  
  
The brunet blinked back into reality, noticing the woman in front of him. Panicking a little, he pulled his lips into a tight smile, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt.  
  
“Oh, hello, Nikki! How can I help you?”

~+~+~+~

It had been months since Tommy was exiled. Tubbo missed him, he _wanted_ to visit, to talk. But he couldn’t bring himself to, so he only watched from afar.   
  
Besides, Dream said Tommy didn’t want visitors. It wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong. He wasn’t. He was respecting Tommy’s wishes. It made sense that he wouldn’t want to see him.  
  
With a sigh, Tubbo leaned against his desk with his head in his hands, the cool metal of the compass soothing his mind.

_Your Tommy._

The compass always pointed to his best friend, and he was eternally grateful to Ghostbur for giving it to him. The young President always held the treasured item in his hand, and slept with it close to his heart.  
  
However, the universe really hated him.  
  
After barely two months, he lost it in an accident with a charged creeper.  
  
That was not a good day.

~+~+~+~

Today was a good day.   
  
Fundy and Quackity hadn’t spoken to Tubbo about Tommy, or their destructive plans; And the most interesting thing to happen was that Phil left L’manberg saying he was, “Going out to farm.”  
  
Walking down the Prime Path, a birchwood road, the boy’s mind wandered, and he found himself wondering how Tommy was doing.  
  
Tubbo had not checked on Tommy in a while, and he had some time to kill. Maybe he could even gain the confidence to say something to his friend. To finally talk again.  
  
He cringed a little, remembering the last time they had spoken. But it had been a long time since, perhaps the hot-headed blonde had cooled down since. Worst comes to worst, Tommy still thinks he isn’t real.  
  
The young president missed his friend dearly, almost desperately. With a deep breath, Tubbo decided he would spend his day going to…  
  
What was it called again? Logstedshire. Yes, that was it. He would go to Logstedshire!  
  
The brunet felt himself smile, like genuinely smile! He wanted to see his friend.  
  
He walked a little faster down the path, down the Scenic Route.  
  
He speed walked through the tunnel, past the pyramid, to The Community House.  
  
He crossed the bridge, hopped up the dark stairs, through the black frame, and into the Nether.  
  
The air was hot and dry, but Tubbo found that he didn’t care. Instead, he admired the bridge Tommy had built. The cobblestone path, and the green arrows that hadn’t been finished. Actually, he found a couple of things were unfinished; A couple of holes here and there, there was a severe lack of railing, and one part of the bridge was a log Tubbo felt a little nervous stepping on.   
  
The walk from L’manberg to Logsted wasn’t very long, he could probably run to and from in ten minutes if he tried. Yet, barely 3 minutes in, Tubbo could feel a familiar uncertainty creep up on him.   
  
What if Tommy hated him? Surely he did.  
  
What if Tommy didn’t want to see him? Dream said he didn’t want to see him. Tubbo knew Tommy didn’t want to see him.  
  
But Tubbo wanted to see Tommy.  
  
He crossed through the next portal, a deep purple enveloping him as he left the dry hellscape of the Nether, and found himself in the beachside forest, the pouring rain a sharp contrast.  
  
However, all thoughts left his mind when he took a single breath. Something was wrong.   
  
There was a faint smell of gunpowder, making his heart jump to his throat.  
  
Tubbo came out a couple of meters away from where he should have.  
  
The normal portal had been broken.  
  
“Wha- What the hell?”  
  
He ran across the dirt trail and found Logstedshire. Or at least what was left.   
  
“What the-”  
  
Logsted had been blown up, the terrain damaged and the small settlement destroyed. All that was left was two craters, and broken walls.

“What the hell?!” He cried, leaning against the nearest tree as he peered into the new cavity.   
  
He turned around, the movement feeling oddly smooth as his mind started to fog.  
  
“Does he have a tent still?”  
  
The boy’s body was moving, and he found himself running.  
  
He knew where it was supposed to be.  
  
It wasn’t there.  
  
“Where’s his tent?!” He shouted, his voice cracking.  
  
The brunet rushed up the slope, one of his shoes feeling a little loose.  
  
He knew he was moving.  
  
“What!”  
  
He knew he was moving fast.  
  
He knew there were a couple of new buildings off to the side.  
  
“What’s gone on here?”  
  
He knew he was in front of another crater.  
  
He knew he was running back to what remained of Logstedshire.  
  
Looking up, a heavy weight fell into his stomach.  
  
“What is- What is this?!”  
  
Tubbo hopped across the broken ground, running to the thing that made his heart stop.  
  
“What is this pillar?”  
  
“Why is it all blown up?”  
  
His eyes went up, and up, and up.  
  
The tower was tall.  
  
So tall, he didn’t know if he was seeing the top, or if it was taller.  
  
There was water in his eyes.  
  
The boy stopped breathing.  
  
Everything felt so distant, and yet too close.  
  
“No..” He shook his head as his hand came up to his mouth. “Surely not.”  
  
This couldn’t be happening.  
  
“No no no- This-” He felt his knees grow weak as he slammed to the ground. “Tommy. Please, not Tommy.”  
  
He heard himself babbling broken sentences.  
  
Everything became blurry, and fat, hot tears ran down his face, bleeding together with the rain.  
  
Tubbo screamed.  
  
It felt like reality was slipping, like he was in a dream.  
  
This had to be a dream.  
  
It had to be.  
  
  
Today, Tubbo was going to finally talk to Tommy again.  
  
 _  
Blonde hair, bright as the sun._

No. No, this couldn’t be happening.

_Blue eyes like the sky of a clear summer sky._

His throat hurt a little bit.

_Pale skin and constant band-aids from the way he was always getting hurt._

This was all his fault.

_Tubbo could almost see him._

It couldn't be real.

He could almost hear his voice.

The rain was cold.

Tommy was on his last life.

He’s dead.

He’s gone.

When Wilbur and Schlatt died, their bodies didn’t poof, because they didn’t respawn.  
  
When Wilbur and Schlatt died, their bodies were buried.

“I have to find the body.” The boy said, forcing himself to stand up. “I banished him from his home, this is all my fault.”

His legs felt like jelly.

There was a hole in his stomach.

He had to find Tommy.

He had to bring him home.

“I need to bring him home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I have a lot of trouble writing Tubbo, and had to dig out some uncomfy memories to get this right, so I hope I did okay!
> 
> Okay, so the basic idea of what happened in the chapter:
> 
> -Tubbo has an uneventful day, so he decides to go visit Tommy.
> 
> -Tubbo goes to Logstedshire and finds it all blown up and stuff.
> 
> -Tubbo finds the tower, figuring that Tommy killed himself, and thinks it's all his fault.
> 
> -I have a little headcannon that when people die on their last life, their body doesn't disappear. (Normally the body would poof like it usually does in Minecraft, but that's because they respawned.)
> 
> -The chapter ends with Tubbo deciding that he needs to find Tommy's body, to bring him home and bury him in L'manberg.


	4. Cold Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Try as you may, Blood God, peace and quiet does not last long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, finally, Technoblade. He is my favorite, both to write and watch. I wrote this chapter very quickly, and actually finished it before I finished the last one.
> 
> I can write Tommy and Technoblade pretty quickly, but writing the chapters that follow Tubbo take me forever! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Technoblade was a simple man now. He woke up with the sun, he stretched, he ate, he tended to his animals, he spoke to his friend over lunch, tended his ever-growing paranoia, ate again, and then he considered sleep.

This had been his schedule for months, but he still could not bring himself to get used to the quiet peace of the cold, northern land.

As someone who was literally born in Hell, even normal cold was a bit much for the piglin hybrid, and snow was something no one would expect him to live in. That was the reason he’d chosen the area to begin with.

But that didn't stop him from sleeping in the attic with a sword in his clenched hand, hidden under his pillows and numerous thick blankets.

The pink-haired man awoke that morning with plans and a headache. He wasn’t even fully awake yet, and they were already too loud.

_Get up. He is coming._

He rubbed one of his temples with his empty hand, thinking about how he and Phil had plans to hang out today.

_Go. Get up. Get outside. Now. Now. Now.Now.NowNowNowNow-_

“I’ll get outside later. Let me eat first, you incessant things.”

Trying his best to ignore the pain in his skull, Techno got out of bed, climbed down the ladder, and started cleaning up his home a little. The man was not uncleanly per se, and neither was the Enderman that sat by the fireplace, but he liked to sweep and make sure his house was impressively neat before his only friend came over.

Phil would be coming over at noon, and it always took at least half a day to get into the area. Neither trident nor rain could make travel faster, snow n’ all that. Another reason this area was the perfect place. It was hard to get to him quickly.

Though that could be a double-sided sword at times.

With a satisfied snort, Techno nodded to himself, before putting on his boots and going outside, and down the stone stairs with the broom in hand.

_Outside. YesYes! Go out further!_

“Shush.” The hybrid piglin snapped, rubbing his temple with one hand. “Geez, why do you guys want me to go outside so badly? It’s the same as it always is.”

With a gesture towards the seemingly endless snow forest, Technoblade hoped that would satisfy the voices. It didn’t though.

_No! There’s something wrong!_

The voices cried, worried about something Technoblade couldn’t understand.

“Can’t we just check after Phil gets here?”

_NoNoNoNo- Can’t wait! Now!_

The pink-haired man didn’t know what to make of the voices. They would scream and cry for blood, attention, anything really. They’d led him down the wrong path before. He'd been trying to ignore them for months.

_Stop standing! Woods! Followfollowfollow!_

Then again, they did do things right sometimes. Despite their chaotic nature, the voices did know a lot, and would sometimes lend Techno some of that wisdom.

_NowNowNowNow!_

With an anguished sigh, Techno went back into his cozy little home through the ground level entrance.

The voices screamed, almost inducing an immediate migraine, making him lean against the closest wall. The zombie villagers in the room groaned, but that really didn’t matter.

“Calm down,” He groaned, feeling slightly exasperated. “ ’m just getting ready to show you nothing is wrong. It’s not like I can just walk outside like this, I don’t have a coat or any armor!”

The nearly blinding pressure in his head lessened, until it was almost nothing.

After leaning the broom against a wall, putting on his armor, cape, and utility belt, the piglin hybrid walked to his door.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly wrote a note for Phil. Just in case the man arrived while he was still out.

With that small notebook placed neatly on the windowsill, Techno set out into the boreal forest.

~+~+~+~

The early morning air was sharp, and frigid, and every breath the pink-haired man let out made a large puff.

Trudging through the snow with no real direction was not how Technoblade planned to spend his morning. He was going to neaten things up, cook some warm stew, meet up with Philza, and tend to his animals.

Walking through the forest aimlessly was not part of the plan.

There was really nothing out of place. The conifers were the same as always. The only thing that misplaced the snow was animal tracks. And even smelling the air, trying to find any trace of something wrong, Techno found nothing out of the ordinary.

Pine.

Wood.

Some random animal crap.

Snow.

Dirt.

The smallest scent of blood.

He blinked, a little confused by that. Blood?

There was a light trail of blood in the snow, footprints, and broken branches with bits of white wool clinging to the splinters. It wasn’t so fresh that it seemed as though something had bled there moments ago, but the amount of snow covering it told him this couldn’t have been made longer than a day ago.

That’s it! Go! Follow! Follow!

Oh. It’s a person.

An uneasy feeling grew in his stomach as he followed the tracks, walking at a brisk pace to find the source of the blood. He could probably catch up, if he hurried, perhaps find what or whoever was bleeding.

The hybrid sucked in a breath when he saw an arrow sticking out of a tree.

You’re getting close! Go! Now! Follow!

Techno found himself moving faster, until he broke into a jog.

Until soon, he found a steep hill that went down, and a red-stained trail that told them that whoever was bleeding had rolled down.

At the end of the line was a tree with an arrow in it, and the tracks continued.

A scent came to Technoblade’s senses, and he immediately knew who he’d been tracking was either dead or dying.

The pink-haired man’s body moved on some kind of impulse he couldn’t quite control, and he found himself rushing to follow.

There was a scent of blood.

Of slight decay.

Of a person who clearly hadn’t bathed in a long time.

Of gunpowder.

Of Tommy.

It was unmistakable. It was him. It had to be him.

The piglin-hybrid’s mind raced, dozens of questions swirling around, but they could wait.

The trail led to a dip in the ground. It was not very far to fall, maybe three feet or so, but Techno found himself worrying more when he didn’t see a trail further ahead.

“Tommy?” He muttered under his breath.

Technoblade, with a deep breath, hopped down, hoping that he could not find something terrible.

When he turned around, towards the cliff edge, he found a small concave in the wall. Inside, laid a little blonde boy, laying on his side, facing the wall. He had an arrow in his shoulder, blood staining the torn rags that had once been a vibrant red baseball shirt.

NowNowNowNowNow- He needs help- HELP- HeLP HIM! NowHel-

The voices screamed, so loudly that it forced his body to morph into a full-piglin.

One of Tommy's pant legs was gone, and the skin had been left completely unprotected. He was even missing a shoe! On the same side! The appendage looked as though it was turning into ice, and blisters blossomed on pale skin.

Help- Save him! Save himSave himSavehim!

This was not how the day was supposed to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I got to use some big words this chapter! :D
> 
> I kinda ended up basing Techno off of the way Cosmicguts (an artist) draws him, with the way he changes between Pig Techno and Anime Techno. 
> 
> Y'know how people have a fight or flight response? 
> 
> Well, when Techno is relaxed, he looks human. (And because he's paranoid and basically always at least a little bit on edge, he's at least got pointed ears all the time.) 
> 
> But when he has strong emotions that would normally result in a fight or flight response, his body shifts to full piglin. His skin gets tougher, he looks like a full piglin, and he's got hoofs and everything! Not to mention the fact that some senses are heightened (The senses that pigs are strong in), though they're already stronger than a normal human's usually. It's a defensive, instinctual response.
> 
> Also! I'm gonna make the chat's words sometimes bleed together and not have spaces. This is gonna be a way to get across the way they all talk over each other, and also have a way to put in little things. Like, "Technoblind", "Technolate", "Technoworried", stuff like that.
> 
> And also, I'm making it so that the chat, if they talk too loud or too much, it'll give Technoblade a headache. The voices are omniscient, what's stopping them from giving the man a migraine?
> 
> Anywho, I hope you have a nice day and thank you for reading!


	5. Missing Peace/Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all is how it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Guess who decided to finish a chapter at 1 in the morning on a school night? Sorry it took so long to update, school and normal life things, y'know? Chapter isn't as long as I would like it to be for making you guys wait for basically a month, but it'll do. I'm gonna update again soon, don't worry! I'm almost done with the next chapter, so hopefully I won't disappear for a month. I'll try not to at least, but I can't promise!
> 
> Since we're back to Tubbo, I guess the only warnings would be for swearing and grief? There's a liar in the chapter too, but I don't know if that's something I should put a warning about though. I don't know, I'm not very experienced in this.

He really wished he still had his compass.

Tubbo had been scouring the nearby area for a long time. He wasn’t sure how long, he felt like he was feeling everything through a haze. The only reason he really knew that hours had passed was because his adrenaline was starting to come down, his entire body ached, the skies had cleared, and the sun had risen.

Everything here was so deathly quiet, and Tubbo couldn’t help but wonder if this was truly the reality he had subjected his best friend to. When he betrayed him, when he threw him out of the country he’d sacrificed everything for—had he truly sent the loudest, clingiest person in the world to be alone on this quiet beach where the only things that showed life were the gentle sounds of nature? It’d be beautiful if Tubbo didn’t- if he _hadn’t_ known Tommy better, didn’t know how much the other disliked silence, how much he hated being alone. This place was—if nothing else—lonely.

The brunet had been here before, but he’d seen Tommy with company, even if it was just one person. Dream was always there, watching Tommy like he said he would. Keeping him safe like he said he would. He was doing everything he said he would, wasn’t he?

There was the faintest sound of footsteps approaching, something he wouldn’t have even noticed if not for how his mind was hyper-fixating on everything.

Tubbo turned to the sound, his eyes meeting with the crude black dots that were the green man’s eyes. The smiley face on the white porcelain mask stared back, the man in the neon green coat stiffening the slightest bit.  
  
Had Tubbo caught him off guard?

“Tubbo? What are you- What happened here?”

“...What?”

“Why is everything-”

“The fuck do you mean _‘what happened here’_ ? You’re the one that’s been here! _You’re_ supposed to know what’s happening here!”

His head hurt.

“Tubbo, I _don’t_ know what happened.”

“Well then tell me what you _do_ know! Because I probably know less than you do! _You’re_ the one that’s here all the time!”

Dream sighed, relaxing has he rubbed the back of his neck. “I _am_ the one that’s here all the time, usually I sleep over too, but Tommy said he wanted a bit of time to himself. Something about Christmas.”

“...Oh.”

Dream.. didn’t have any answers?

“We said goodbye for the night and I left. He seemed fine at the time, something must’ve happened after I left.”

The wind picked up, silence falling over the two. 

It really was too quiet here.

“...So what, two big craters show up by themselves and an ominous tower shoots into the sky? There has to be something better than that.”

“I don’t know, Tubbo.”

“...Tell me Dream, is there anything you know?” The young president seethed, baby blue eyes boring into the mask the man hid behind. “For someone who always seems to know too much, you say ‘I don’t know’ a lot.”

Dream chuckled, “What can I say? I’m human, I don’t know _everything_ . What do you want me to say, President? That I know everything? I don’t. I just happen to know things _you_ don’t.”

“Then tell me something I _don’t_ know.”

He hummed, “There’s someone who lives around here, not too far, but not too close either.”

The boy blinked, his spine straightening at the statement. Someone… someone lived around here?

“The Blood God isn’t far.”

Vibrant sparkles came to Tubbo’s mind, screams, burns, blood, gold. Blackened bones and ear-shattering bursts. A dark sky decorated with the lights of the festival. Red as blood. Blue as the sea. White as bone.

“Technoblade? What- why would he..?”

That.. it didn’t feel right.

“Beats me. No one’s seen him in a while, maybe he got bored of hiding.”

“But..” Tubbo looked around the damaged land, the broken paths and burning torches.

The president thought he had his fair share of gunpowder by now, that maybe he’d finally be done with it. It seemed not. 

However, there was something wrong with this. Technoblade wouldn’t blow up something like this out of boredom, and he definitely didn’t do something like _this_ unprovoked. As much as Tubbo didn’t like the man, he _did_ like to think he understood him at least.

Not to mention, Technoblade didn’t like using explosives that left gunpowder in the air like this. There was a reason all of his rockets were made with fragrant flowers and perfumes. It wasn’t just for colors. It wasn’t just for show. It was for scent, man had a sensitive nose.

Tubbo ducked his head, staring at his shoes and the sand he stood upon. Taking a deep breath, the boy-

“T-Tubbo?” A familiar voice said shakily.

The two turned towards the source, a tall teen with heterochromic eyes that looked like two halves of different people smashed together in a suit.

_“Dream?_ What- Where’s Tommy?”

The trees bristled and the sound of the ocean crashing against sand was all that answered Ranboo.

“...God.. No, no. This isn’t what it looks like.” The ender hybrid said, his black and white hands covering his mouth.“Tell me this _isn’t_ what it looks like.”

Tubbo couldn’t bring himself to answer, he didn’t know what to say, and he didn’t trust his own voice right now. Everything hurt, everything felt sore, and everything felt tired.

Ranboo ran past the President and the green man, calling out for Tommy as he rushed to the tower.

Tubbo wasn’t strong enough for this.

~+~+~+~

Dream said he’d comb the nearby forest while Tubbo and Ranboo searched the area for _anything._ But it was a fruitless effort, and the two found nothing of Tommy’s. They did find a couple of odd things though, there was a log that bridged out into the sea like a dock, hidden behind the forest, a small sign deeming it the ‘screaming station’; And in _many_ different spots there were covered holes, but they weren’t small holes, mind you, the holes were huge! Like, huge enough to fit five endermen in there kind of huge! 

Despite his efforts to keep going though, after a couple of hours Tubbo ended up passing out in the forest. When he woke up he was back in L’manberg, muffled voices from below not much more than white noise as he stared blankly at a cobblestone ceiling.

Cobblestone was Tommy’s favorite.

The bright light of the afternoon came in through the windows, too bright for how Tubbo felt. Laying under white sheets, the teen found that he didn’t want to be awake. He didn’t want to do _anything_. He didn’t know what he wanted. 

Nothing felt right, everything felt wrong. It didn’t feel real. They couldn’t find Tommy. Something was wrong.

Dream seemed to suggest that Technoblade was the reason everything was blown up, and while Tubbo could trust Dream’s judgment at times, something was wrong. Something was _very_ wrong. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but he couldn’t let it go either.

Tubbo rolled over, rubbing his face into the pillow under him. While his body _did_ hurt less, and his head _did_ stop pounding, Tubbo found that his stomach still felt like a dark vortex, and his eyes still burned a little.

There was a noise from a different corner of the room, but Tubbo felt like all his power had been sapped. He could barely get himself to look up and see who it was that was standing next to the bed, not that he really needed to. The gentle, steady hand on his back and long green cloak gave it away.

“Hey mate, you hungry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After poking around a bit, I realized that Tubbo, the PRESIDENT of L'manberg, didn't have a house. Or an office as far as I can tell. So, while I have him grieve Tommy, he'll be staying with Phil. Not like he's got his own house to hole up in after all.
> 
> Again, if anyone has any tips or criticisms, I'd be happy to hear them! I'm not 100% sure about what I'm doing, so having more information always helps! Anyway, have a nice day! And thank you for reading!


	6. Asclepius, Help Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friend, I was not prepared for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (To everyone who read this chapter when it was up before, I apologize. I ended up not liking it after posting, so I decided to rewrite. Then school and life decided work together to drown me in other things to do, it took a little while to get this finished.)
> 
> I left for two minutes. Tommy got stuck in a small room with Dream, then beat to death, then brought back to life. I don't know how to feel about this. Also Ranboo and Tubbo got married? And they have a son?  
> I really need to properly listen to the past couple of streams.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also quick warning, Techno will be taking care of Tommy, so I'm gonna describe his injuries. Oh, also I gave someone a lot of emotional distress, so if that makes you uncomfy, you have been warned.

After taking off his now-uncomfortable shoes and throwing them into his inventory, Technoblade hovered over the injured child, unsure what to do.

_Bloodbloodblood- Tommyno- Technoworried? -oodbloodblood- Fix-_

Tommy was bleeding, not to mention the fact that he probably had both hypothermia and frostbite.  
  
What was he supposed to take care of first? Should he stop the bleeding before trying to take him somewhere warm? He’d read that you weren’t supposed to move bleeding people, and stop the bleeding quickly, but if he didn’t hurry Tommy would probably lose his extremities to frostbite. A thought came to mind, so the piglin went with it.

There wasn’t a second to spare.

Technoblade broke the arrow, making it shorter—but left it in. He took off his cape, swaddling the boy in it before picking him up. With a hand protecting the arrow from the cape, a concerningly light-weight child pressed to his chest, and an arm under the blonde, the man gave his surroundings a quick look-over. He came from that direction, so the house was that way.

  
_-warmHe needs to getwarm- bloodbloodbloodbloo- HumanGPS._

  
Piglin hooves cut through the snow, freezing his feet and slowing him down.

There wasn’t a moment to lose.

He could feel Tommy breathing lightly, could feel the wound bleed into his hand.

Despite the many voices crying for him to help the boy— save the boy—and the voices that were screaming at the sight of blood, there was one in the back of his head that did neither. Instead, it hissed words of betrayal, trying to remind Technoblade that taking in this boy was a bad idea. 

He pushed it down though, opting to tune out the voices until they said something worth listening to.

The forest quickly thinned out, and the pig man sped through the rough trails between the tall mountains of the land.

Past the floating island over the turtle farm, and up towards the smoke. Towards the cabin.

He let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding, not that he'd ever admit that if asked.

There was a ping from Techno’s pocket, but he ignored it, opting to instead run up stone steps and kick open his own door. He’d fix the hinges later. Edward made noises that Techno could only call curious, not that he was really sure, endermen weren’t very easy to read and Technoblade wasn’t exactly what people would call an emotional genius. If anything, he was called “emotionally constipated” and “as helpful as a brick wall.” Or, that’s what the voices said anyway. He couldn’t really complain though, since they _were_ right about that.

Where was he? Right, Tommy. Without a much better place to put the blonde teen, he handed him to a slightly confused mob. Edward put down his grass block and tilted his head at the boy, big, pitch black hands gingerly holding him, picking at the knots in his blonde hair while Techno pulled out the extra bed he kept around for Phil.

Replacing the white sheets with some red ones, the pig man ran around his house, looking for everything he’d need. He scrambled up the ladder, grabbed some of the medicinal books he’d been collecting, jumped down into the basement, pushed the zombie villagers out of the way, and collected some of the things he’d need. Regen pot, string, needle, some clean rags, bandages, a pair of shears, and a couple of blankets. Climbing up the ladder, Techno dropped what he had in his arms onto the floor next to the bed. Edward gave a warbled chirp, letting Techno pull Tommy out of his careful hold.

_Thefireisn’thotenought! MORE FIRE!Biggerfire! Burn the house down!_

“Ha! No, nah nah nah nah, that is _not_ happening.” Techno said, carefully dropping Tommy face-down—so to avoid disturbing the arrow—on the mattress standing in front of the fireplace. “I’ll add some wood to the fire though.”

  
With the grace of a crab, the piglin stepped over Tommy, and threw a couple of logs he had in his inventory to the fire. 

_Firepog- Tommy- helphim? I remember, in one book it said to warm the extremities with a cloth soaked in warm water! Buuuurn- lmao- StopWASTINGTIMEPIG- Mmm, bacon._

Water? That...might be useful.

Deciding it’d be best to ignore Chat for a little while, Techno pulled a cauldron out of a chest and placed it over the fire, deciding not to waste time as he hopped over Tommy and went outside to get some water. It was simple and quick, he pulled a bucket out of his inventory, filled it with water from the nearby frozen pond, and went back into the house to fill the oversized pot.

Prepared as he could be, Technoblade cut the thin, torn rags that used to be Tommy’s favorite shirt, trying to get a good view of what he was going to be working with. When he looked at the boy’s white bony back though, he knew he was going to be in over his head.

The voices screamed at the sight, the raised skin, the burns, the bruises, the crappy bandages and ill-handled wounds. Techno was not a man who pitied people, he was far from it, but this almost hurt. Not just because the voices were trying to make his head explode, it was because some of the wounds looked new and infected. Some of them looked like carefully placed slashes and cuts, made to cause pain but avoid irreversible damage. Or at least, that’s what it looked like it was aiming for. Some of the wounds now looked more like someone had tried to jam their fingers into the wound to feel for the bones that stuck out under Tommy’s skin like the framework of a thin tent.

The infamous metallic smell of blood reached Techno in a moment, his hands instinctively moving to cover his airways. Not that it helped, his piglin form always resulting in heightened senses, which in this case, was not what he wanted. He wanted to _not_ smell the blood. He needed to _not_ smell the blood. The voices would.. what?

The voices _did_ scream at the scent of blood, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Techno had expected. For years, even the faintest smell of blood would make them desperately sing for more. It’d make his brain go numb and his body move in ways almost out of his own control, fighting to paint everything red in the crimson of human blood. 

But now? There weren’t many that sounded like they had insatiable bloodlust, in fact, there were a couple that seemed concerned rather than joyed. It didn’t make sense.

Cautiously putting his hands down, Techno found that Chat was being oddly manageable. Incessant, yes, but something that the shapeshifter didn’t find himself curling up from. Something he could ignore.

Now that he thought about it, the smell of Tommy’s blood hadn’t hit him earlier either. He had barely noticed the scent at all.

_Hurryup!-echnoscared?Blood!Whatare you doing?!_

Shaking his head, he pushed his confusion aside, deciding he’d deal with it later. Right now he had to deal with the bleeding teenager in front of him. Taking away the old wrappings and carefully pouring the regen pot on the open wounds, bruises, and burns. Techno let the pink concoction work it’s magic, making the skin weave itself back together. It wasn’t immediate, but it _was_ quick. The big cuts and burns left small marks, but they seemed to be mostly fine.

Weighing his options, Techno carefully wrapped a hoof-like hand around the shaft of the arrow. He could rip it out and pour some regen in, a fragile human body could handle _that_ at least, let the magic brew fix it. There was probably nothing wrong with that, right? Techno had taken care of himself like that countless times, and he turned out mostly fine. He’d been pumped with enough magic for a lifetime despite only being twenty-one, been through—and won—an innumerable amount of battles, and could still count all of his scars on one hand. 

Tommy would be fine. Kid’s been shot before, this wouldn’t kill him.

~+~+~+~

By sundown, the voices were calmer, Techno had relaxed enough to settle back into his human form, and Tommy was still unconscious, but had gained a fever. 

The past couple of hours had been spent checking over the gremlin, finding cuts old and new, burns, splinters, bruises, and small things sticking out like shrapnel. Not to mention the various cloths that Techno wet with warm water and left on Tommy’s forehead, hands, feet, and _an entire damn leg._ And that, _that_ was just a broad sense of all that was wrong with the kid. If he didn’t have brain damage before, Techno wouldn’t be surprised if he had it now.

He had to admit though, it was almost impressive how Tommy wasn’t dead yet. He may have looked like he was decomposing already with how bad he looked and smelled, but based on the grime Techno found when cleaning the wounds, Tommy just hadn’t taken a bath in a while. Which was kind of gross. Thinking about it, Techno would probably have to just wash the kid if he didn’t wake up soon, but that was something he wasn’t looking forward to.

For now however, Techno was keeping an eye on the boy while he ate his first meal of the day, which was just an apple, a piece of bread, and some golden carrots.

He couldn’t help but stare a little at the kid, the situation was…not an everyday circumstance. The pink-haired man knew that Tommy lived close, but he assumed that the brat was just staying at his new little exile base.

Why was he even out here anyway? There was no reason for him to know that Techno lived in this direction, or that _anyone_ did. Then again, this was Tommy, the kid was impulsive and had no sense of direction, even going as far as to reject learning the four cardinal directions by covering his ears and yelling over the instructions. But Tommy _had_ to at least have the self preservation skills to not walk into a tundra for no reason. 

_Can we keep him?_

Techno snorted, “What is he? A pet?”

_Yeah! Let’s keep him as a pet! Petinnit-_

“Chat, stop being cringe. ‘m _not_ going to keep Tommy as a pet.” He said, “What is he? A stray dog?”

_He could be! We like him!_

“Nah- wait what did you say?”

The fire cracked, a loud pop from the burning wood pulling Techno back into the room. Tommy was still asleep, and Edward’s black clawed hands were picking at the boy’s ratty hair. The blonde’s hair had grown since he’d last seen him. How long ago was that? It had to have been months ago.

With a sigh, he glanced out the window, watching the snowfall as the sun sunk behind the mountains once more. Phil was supposed to come over a while ago. After pulling the bulky communicator out of his pocket, Technoblade noticed he had a message from Phil.

_Sorry, old friend, I can’t come over today. Something came up._ _  
__(8:35 am)_

The pink haired man sighed, his head hanging as he sat on the edge of the windowsill. 

He was really looking forward to Phil’s cooking tonight.

_That’s fine. Something happened over here too._  
( _Now.)_

“..no.. please..”

Techno’s ears flicked at the mumbles, dark coal eyes quickly landing on Tommy. The teen was fidgeting, which wouldn’t be anything to bat an eye at if not for his pinched expression or how still he had been for almost the entire day.

“Tommy?”

“Dream... don’t… _please_ that’s all I have.”

He was breathing heavily like if he didn’t now, he wouldn’t have the chance to later. The voices erupted in Techno’s mind, clouding his thoughts as they all tried to talk over each other. 

Almost like a contest for who could speak louder. They did that once, while Techno was traveling alone across a large ocean. The trip had been so mind-numbingly boring, he wouldn’t have minded it if not for how it left him with a migraine for days after.

Right now though, they weren’t trying to grab attention, they were trying to order Techno. Crying for him to comfort Tommy. Telling him to look around the area, to make sure everything was safe. Demanding that he kill a green man. When he found himself moving towards Tommy, he didn’t know if it was him or Chat. It didn’t matter though, he was hovering over a feverish teenager having a nightmare.

“Tommy?” Techno called, kneeling down by the cot before reaching for his shoulder.

When he was touched, Tommy’s eyes snapped open and his entire body jumped away like Techno was a fire that had just burned him. Damp towels fell as the dirty, blonde teenager fell off the bed and scrambled to get away.

Which, fair. 

The last time the two met, Techno was heckling him for getting exiled. And the time before that, he was trying to kill him. It was kind of lame since it was _such_ a long time ago. Kid really needed to learn about forgiveness. Even Techno had, and he was _not_ a forgiving person.

“I’m- I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so- I shouldn’t have- I should have just listened to you!” Tommy cried out, tripping over his own gasping breaths and hiccups.

That.. That wasn’t right.

“Tommy, Tommy calm down.” He said, holding out his hands the way he would to a wounded animal, palms up and fingers splayed open.

Tommy only flinched back, pushing himself so far into the corner between the crafting table and the wall, it almost looked like he was going to go into it like a silverfish. 

“I’msorry- I- Please Dream- I didn’t- It’s all my fault! _Please-_ please forgive me!” He sobbed, confusing Techno further.

_Hethinksyou’reDream-BLOOD-WE WANT THE BLOOD OF THE GREEN MAN! Tommy-Helphim! Heshavingapanicattack- Comforthim- holdhim- protecthim!_

Something was very wrong here, and Techno didn’t like it.

“Tommy. Tommy, I need you to look at me.”

Terrified dull blue eyes looked into black ones, wild with a fear that Techno could easily recognize. One he’d seen many, _many_ times. One he had hoped to not see again.

“Tommy, you’re- I am not Dream. That guy is always wearing an obnoxious green hoodie that could probably stain grass. ’m not.”

“You’re- I’m-”

“You need to breathe. You’re prolly gonna pass out if you don’t.” Techno half-heartedly joked. Though, it _was_ true, Tommy would probably faint if he kept going like this. “Just- Look, just follow my lead.”

Carefully, the piglin tried to do his usual breathing exercises, but in a loud and exaggerated way that Tommy could follow. It took a couple minutes, but he was able to get him to hiccup through his breaths rather than panicked words. Eventually the teen’s breaths evened out and he didn’t look like he was going to explode out of pure anxiety.

“I’m sorry, I- I overreacted. I’m really sorry, just- Please don’t be angry.” Tommy begged, his body curling up and his face tensed like he was expecting to be punched in the nose.

He looked...weak. Technoblade was not a man that felt much pity, but this was pitiful. Sad even. It was just that. _Tommy_ was just that. It didn’t make sense.

The hero wasn’t supposed to be weak like this, wasn’t supposed to curl up in a ball like a kicked puppy, wasn’t supposed to wake up feverish, scrambling away like he’d seen Death himself. Theseus wasn’t supposed to be that. Theseus was a hero who felt no guilt when he was wrong, because he always thought he was right.

Tommy had been apologizing, he just _kept_ apologizing. Tommy never apologized for anything. He said he was always right, and he truly believed it. So why did he apologize? It wasn’t right. None of this was.

This wasn’t Tommy.

He… well, he _kind of_ looked like Tommy. But Tommy was a healthy, lanky kid who had fluffy golden hair and bright blue diamond eyes. This skeleton with skin looked like he’d been dragged through the haunting sands of Hell. An imposter with greasy, shoulder-length hair that looked like a withering dandelion and eyes like a dark storm, he was not the Tommy Technoblade knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing, while researching what to do with Tommy's injuries, I found that there are many reasons that logically Tommy should be really, really dead. He jumped into a lake, then walked into a tundra without even the normal amount of clothing. Frostbite can set in in 0 degree weather in about 30 minutes, and Tommy was out in that kind of weather, STILL a little wet, for a NIGHT. Plus, it's colder because the sun isn't out, definitely dipping below 0 degrees. Not to mention the fact that a malnourished kid gets hypothermia faster than a healthy one. So even if the hypothermia didn't kill him, he'd have really severe frostbite. I'm trying really hard to make it so Tommy doesn't lose a limb, but it's really hard when the situation is stacked against him like this. Anyway, medical stuff is weird and I am not a professional. Thank God for magic healing potions.
> 
> Also this chapter is like, 2736 words. Please be proud of me.

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! First chapter! Okay, so before we continue, I would like to say that this work is going to mostly just be Techno and Tommy-centric, with the occasional L'manberg chapter. I would write more for what's happening in the country, but I didn't actually pay attention to what was happening in L'manberg. I just watched Techno and Tommy's streams. 
> 
> (I might have seen some clips here and there, but I know little to nothing about the inner-workings of L'manberg.)


End file.
